Wireless communications networks (WCNs) have undergone several generations of Radio Access Network (RAN) technologies, including so called second generation (2G), third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) access technologies. So called fifth generation (5G) RAN technologies are being proposed to various wireless standards groups. In addition to RAN technologies, wireless local area networks (e.g., Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards) have been developed.
Current WCNs, such as those based on Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standards specified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), provide data connectivity to user equipment (UE). These networks have been designed to provide connectivity services to User Equipment (UE) (e.g., mobile phones, smart phones, laptops, tablets, computers, and other user devices). Because not all UEs served by the network are simultaneously active, WCNs are designed to allocate wireless resources to devices as needed. Typically, more resources are allocated to devices in an active state. A device is considered to be in an active state if it is transmitting data, receiving data, or preparing to do so. UEs are configured to enter an idle state while not actively transmitting to both conserve battery power and to reduce the demand on the network.
3G/4G networks have focused on connection management based on a binary status of a UE as being in either an active or an idle state. The allocation of resources to serve UEs is based on these two states for a connected device. Mobile networks, such as those following LTE standards, have been designed to support UE mobility. The assumption in the design of the network is that all UEs can move, either when active or when idle. Because it is important that network entities be able to reach connected UEs, the Mobility Management Entity (MME) has been responsible for connection management. The MME tracks the location of an active UE, with respect to the network topology, and assigns resources to the UE to facilitate both uplink and downlink communications. When a UE is in an IDLE state, the MME assigns a tracking area. When the UE determines that it has left the tracking area, it performs a tracking area update so that the MME can receive updated tracking information. Accordingly, the MME tracks UE location and activity in fairly coarse granularity.
Existing mobile networks have been used to support devices that are not intended to be mobile, such as meters and other sensors that form what is referred to as an “internet of things” (IoT). These devices have similar communication profiles to each other, but differ from many existing UEs. These devices, often referred to as machine-to-machine (M2M) device often generate infrequent small packet based traffic. The frequency with which an M2M device communicates with the network is often very predictable and in some situations it often scheduled. Although this communication profile, often referred to as Machine Type Communication (MTC), results in a small amount of traffic from a single device, an MTC device is rarely deployed as a single instance. Typically, a large number of M2M devices are deployed in a coordinated manner, resulting in a very large number of small messages being transmitted by the M2M devices. In an LTE network, all connected devices are provided the same tracking services, which typically allows a coarse tracking of the UE activity status (e.g. ACTIVE or IDLE) and a UE location (typically with respect to the topology of the network, with more precise location information stored for Active devices than for Idle devices).
As the number of devices connecting to networks increases, and as the needs and capabilities of these devices becomes more varied, a greater need for a more robust connection management system has arisen. Next generation networks could be better served by a connection management system that provided better granularity for both activity and location tracking, and provided different levels of resource allocation for different needs. There exists a need for better connection management for WCNs which provide communication services to both UE and MTC devices.
This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.